TSH is 20 @ 18wks

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SHD912 wrote:

My thyroid was perfectly under control up until about 6 weeks ago. It's now 20. I'm a STM, so I've been through this all before but it never went above 5 while pregnant with my son. I'm worried, I guess just need some words of encouragement or stories of success? OB says not to worry but who can't I when your level isn't supposed to go above 2.5.....

I also haven't gained ANY weight and I don't feel dead tired which I think is strange?? I've had hypo for 17 years and I know how I SHOULD be feeling (bad, very bad) with levels that low.. but I don't! Has anyone experienced this?!

I'm usually hypo (have Hashimotos) but am now hyper, have been for the entire pregnancy and my endo still hasn't lowered my levothyroxine level. It's super annoying. I see him on Friday so I'm going to discuss.

Are you seeing an endocrinologist? You need to see one. They should be checking your TSH and FT4 every 6wks and changing your med as needed. 20 is definitely not good but they can get it to come down in about a month.

My endo is/was pointless so I stopped seeing him after he told me my weight gain was because I wasn't going to weight watchers.

Hmm... after 17 years I think I've tried that avenue, not to mention I WAS currently dieting (low carb/ no sugar/ all Whole Foods) at the time and wasn't losing anything! I'm actually just giving up on most doctors in general. Hah.

Endo is a good idea (new one?) but sometimes your OB or even GP will be comfortable adjusting your dose, if you trust either of those more. Mostly my GP manages my dose at this point. Sounds like a good sign that you don't feel hypo though! Did they measure free T3 and T4 as well or only TSH? My docs won't usually adjust my dose based on TSH alone.

I'm hyper (Graves' disease) and my TSH is fully repressed and undetectable so under 0.002 however my t4 and t3 have now come back into range so my Meds have been reduced massively, are you having your free t's checked ?

Are you in California by chance? Most of the endos here suck. I get you. But if you look on the stop the thyroid madness website, they have a list of progressive Endo's. You really need to see one. A TSH level of 20 can actually do neurological damage to your baby so you need to take some levothyroxine and be monitored so that your TSH stays in a tight range.

Could this be a lab error? My TSH measured in at 22 when I was 7 months pregnant with my 1st. I was shocked since I didn't feel any symptoms at all & demanded another test immediately. The next one (taken maybe an hour later) came back at 2.2! I took another one the next morning....came back at 1.4. My OB said it was clearly a mistake. I would ask for a retest if I were you before taking the meds.

The baby is making it wacky. Same here with mine. My endo specialist told me to get bloodwork every 4 weeks to check to make sure that its normal. You might have to take something to regulate. My OBGYN said it's not something to mess around with. Good Luck!